Chase Game

Suburbs.

The towering pillar of fire gradually shrank and fell back until it finally dissipated completely, as if nothing had ever happened.

Centered on Shen Nianqing, a large area of ​​land beneath her feet turned scorched black.

Her flowing hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders as her toes touched the ground.

Sancai Tuanzi breathed a sigh of relief, then produced a pink flower-shaped hair tie from who-knows-where, put it in her mouth, and moved closer to Shen Nianqing.

However, Shen Nianqing's hands were not idle at this moment. A ball of leaping flame floated in the palm of her left hand; in the palm of her right hand was a smooth sphere with a faint white luster.

The two are the [Phoenix Flame] and the "Origin" that separated from it.

Soon, the essence of her right hand gradually merged into her body under her control.

She withdrew her left hand again, where the [Phoenix Flame] remained suspended.

After freeing her hands, she took the tricolor dumpling from below, picked up the hair tie, and simply tied a neat ponytail.

While she was tying her hair, Ma Tuan also came over, staring curiously at the ball of flame in the air.

In the end, he couldn't resist. He leaped up lightly and tried to pull her into his arms with his fluffy, chubby little paws.

But this thing wasn't a ball after all; it possessed a certain mystical quality. Before the cat's paw could even touch the [Phoenix Flame] itself, it was burned back.

"Meow! It's so hot...it's burning me!"

After Shen Nianqing finished tying her hair up, she saw that Ma Tuan was already rolling on the ground, clutching its front paws and screaming.

She shook her head helplessly and advised, "Don't try to touch everything next time!"

"Huh? Why can you take it, Your Highness? Aren't you afraid of getting burned?"

Faced with Ma Tuan's question, the tricolor dumpling walked to his side and placed one of its front paws on him. After a strange light, Ma Tuan no longer felt any pain.

After finishing the treatment, the three-colored dumpling told him, "Idiot, didn't you see that the young master also took precautions and protection measures, and didn't directly touch it?"

"Waaah..."

After whimpering twice, Ma Tuan fell silent. After all, it was his own fault for being impulsive, and he deserved to be scolded!

"My lord, the source has been collected. Shall we exit the game now?" the tricolor dumpling asked.

Shen Nianqing thought for a moment, glanced at Feng Yan beside her, and finally shook her head, saying:

"If it weren't for me, Ling Yi would have gotten this. Now that I've borrowed it, I'll return it to him."

Sancai Tuanzi nodded slightly, having no objection, while Ma Tuan was somewhat unhappy, but he only pouted and didn't say anything.

So when Ding Guifang arrived first, all she saw was scorched earth; there was nothing else to be seen.

She frowned, took out an oil lamp, and the small flame inside flickered, as if being pulled by something.

Finally, it stabilized and headed back towards the Meng residence.

Without saying a word, Ding Guifang chased after him again on her whirlwind wheels.

During this time, she also encountered Wang Yun, but neither of them had the time to fight.

When Wang Yun saw Ding Guifang heading back in the direction she had come from, he was somewhat puzzled, but he still insisted on continuing forward.

It wasn't until he saw a desolate, scorched wasteland that he understood why Ding Guifang had rushed back.

Ding Guifang's second encounter was with Zhou Jie. When Zhou Jie questioned her, she ignored him and walked past him.

Zhou Jie himself did not have the ability to detect the location of [Phoenix Flame]; he was merely following Ding Guifang's direction.

Now that Ding Guifang is walking back, he has no choice but to turn back as well.

Therefore, the three of them turned around as if they were in a shuttle race.

However, the positions of Zhou Jie and Wang Yun were reversed.

Ling Yi, who was originally at the very bottom, has now become number one after obtaining the Phoenix Flame!

The Phoenix Flame actually fell directly from the sky into his hand, almost startling him!

He immediately realized that this wasn't a windfall, but rather that the Chosen One had taken back the source and returned the [Phoenix Flame] to him.

Shen Nianqing, who was hidden in the sky, smiled slightly as she watched her little prank succeed.

"My lady, how come he can hold the Phoenix Flame in his hand so easily?"

Ma Tuan poked her head out, looking somewhat surprised and puzzled.

"Because he has the item 'Burning Hand'."

The saying goes, "Where there is a venomous snake, there is always an antidote within three steps." This principle also applies to game instances.

This [Phoenix Flame] cannot be touched lightly, which means there must be a special tool to counter it, namely [Burning Hand].

Watching Ling Yi turn and walk away, and with Ding Guifang, who was closest to him, unable to catch up for a while, Shen Nianqing unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

However, her heart was soon filled with another emotion: curiosity.

She wanted to see how Ling Yi would escape the three pursuers, what he would do next, and whether he would win the game.

Thinking of this, she felt a little uneasy amidst her anticipation. What if... Ling Yi lost?

The girl, caught in this dilemma, suddenly shook her head, banishing all those bad thoughts from her mind.

"He's definitely going to win!"

Thinking this through, the girl made a decision—"Perhaps... I can leave her a way out."

As long as she still occupies the dancer's body, Ling Yi's single-line quest cannot be completed, so she decides to quit the game.

Even though she was very curious and wanted to see Ling Yi's victory with her own eyes, Shen Nianqing would rather give Ling Yi the road she had blocked herself back than make him fight a desperate battle with no way out.

After obtaining the Phoenix Flame, Ling Yi looked around but did not see any Chosen Ones.

He knew the other party wouldn't easily show themselves to contact the player, so he stopped searching and focused on dealing with the current situation.

That is the question of "what to do next".

Ding Guifang was able to track down [Feng Yan]'s location, but with this thing in hand, I'm just a sitting duck, and it's only a matter of time before I get caught.

Just as he was crying and making a fuss, the [Phoenix Flame] in his hand started to move, and something in his arms seemed to be buzzing.

He reached in and took it out, only to find it was the [Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant]. Immediately, a possibility came to his mind.

He held [Phoenix Flame] in one hand and [Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant] in the other, bringing the two close together. Soon he felt a magnetic attraction.

The moment the two made contact, Ling Yi saw the Phoenix Flame in his hand being absorbed by the Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant!

In the blink of an eye, the Phoenix Flame had completely disappeared, while the Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant shone even brighter.

But soon, all the light receded, condensing into a small, constantly flashing point of light in the center, while the surroundings remained dark.

On the [Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant] panel that Ling Yi saw, in addition to the skill descriptions, there was an extra line of small text—

[Life absorption in progress, current progress 0%]

Ling Yi didn't understand the meaning of the small characters, so he could only put away the jade pendant for the time being and head to the Meng residence.

As for whether it would lure everyone there and cause a major battle, he couldn't care less.

In short, he has already thought it through. If there's trouble, we'll all share the burden; that's what good brothers do.

Behind him, Ding Guifang discovered something terrible.

"How...how is this possible?!"

Just now, Ding Guifang discovered that the oil lamp flame had gone out!

This is not just a simple matter of no longer being able to perform the tracking function; it also means that [Feng Yan] has encountered a problem.

Because the tiny flame on the oil lamp was peeled off from the [Phoenix Flame] itself.

Therefore, the flame of an oil lamp can reflect the state of [Phoenix Flame] to some extent.

Furthermore, there is another very important issue.

That is to say, Ding Guifang actually relies on this oil lamp to perform most of her skills.

Once the oil lamp went out, her abilities and combat power were effectively halved.

In her confusion, she waited for Zhou Jie.

Hearing the noise behind her, Ding Guifang came to her senses and quickly put the oil lamp away somewhere.

When Zhou Jie caught up, his expression was also somewhat angry. He scolded, "What the hell are you trying to do now?"

Clearly, Zhou Jie was fed up with being treated like a dog.

Ding Guifang was also very annoyed. Things were not going well to begin with, and then this so-called "chosen one" came along and made things worse, which only added fuel to the fire.

After arguing with Zhou Jie for a while, Wang Yun also arrived.

However, he didn't have the ability to track down [Feng Yan]; he was just following Ding Guifang in an attempt to cause trouble.

In any case, Wang Yun had no intention of fighting against the Chosen One.

Those guys have bizarre abilities, and there's no reward for winning, so there's no point in wasting your energy.

Seeing Ding Guifang and the other person lingering there, with some worry in their eyes, Wang Yun instantly guessed the most likely cause of the problem.

"Looks like we've lost track of the Chosen One..." Wang Yun narrowed his eyes slightly.

The two sides faced off in silence and with vigilance. Wang Yun was considering his chances of winning against two opponents in his current state.

Ding Guifang and Zhou Jie, however, did not want to fight Wang Yun anymore. They had ambushed him earlier only for the [Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant]. Now that the pendant was no longer with Wang Yun, there was no need to risk injury and fight to the death.

Having lost the will to fight, and knowing that continuing the stalemate would be pointless, the two slowly retreated. Wang Yun pondered for a long time but did not intervene.

A chase centered on the struggle for the [Phoenix Flame] was thus abruptly halted.

After returning to the Meng residence, Ling Yi briefly explained the matter to Zhang Qiang and Meng Dong before they began studying the Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant together.

He noticed a change in the small print on the prop's control panel—

[Life absorption in progress, current progress 5%]

Ling Yi immediately did the mental calculations. If it was in terms of time, then less than forty minutes had passed. To reach 100%...

That's about twelve hours!

Ling Yi looked up at the sky; it was already getting dark. He then asked Meng Dong, "What time is it?"

Meng Dong was wearing a mechanical watch. He glanced at it and replied, "6:24 PM."

"That means it will reach 100% by around 5:50 tomorrow morning," Ling Yi said.

"What will happen when it reaches one hundred?"

"I don't know, but tomorrow is the last day, and I have a feeling... the real final battle is coming soon."

Ling Yi put away the jade pendant, his expression somewhat solemn.

Zhang Qiang and Meng Dong can still escape the game by completing single-line quests, but their own single-line quest to find the dancer is probably hopeless. Now they can only focus on the main quest and fight with their backs against the wall.

However, his idea was quickly overturned by a servant who came in and delivered a message.

"Reporting to the young master, there is a young lady outside the manor who says she saw a young master named 'Ling Yi'."

Meng and Zhang both turned their gazes to Ling Yi, who was also somewhat bewildered.

"Are you sure it's a girl? How old does she look?" he asked.

The servant thought for a moment and said, "Uh... he looks to be only about twenty years old..."

Ling Yi thought about it again, but still couldn't figure it out.

Where did this girl come from? Of the seven players in the game, only Ding Guifang is an old woman. Could she possibly transform into this form?

Thinking back to when he saw Ding Guifang appear in the form of the little girl Afang in the Abyss, he felt that it wasn't impossible.

While he was still hesitating whether to go out and take a look, another servant came in to report.

"Young Master, that girl has fainted!"

The three looked at each other, and finally Ling nodded and said, "Let's go and see who's up to the tricks."

Meng and Zhang nodded.

Soon, they arrived at the gate, where a beautiful young woman was sitting by the door with her eyes closed.

Ling Yi recognized her at a glance, and exclaimed in surprise, "A dancer... no, a chosen one?!"

The three men carried the woman into the house and poured water over her, and the dancer quickly regained consciousness.

Ling Yi wasn't in the room. The first people she saw were Meng Dong and Zhang Qiang. Then she realized she was in an unfamiliar environment, still lying in bed, and she almost jumped up in fright.

Fortunately, she was too weak to do anything but show a terrified expression. She cried out, "Who...who are you people? What did you do to me?!"

Zhang Qiang was about to step forward to explain, but the dancer was so frightened that she grabbed the blanket and quickly hid in the corner of the bed.

Zhang Qiang was stunned, a question forming in his mind that he shared with Meng Dong: "Is this really a chosen one?"

Fortunately, Ling Yi pushed open the door and came in not long after. He had just gone to take a piss and now felt much better.

As soon as he entered the room, he sensed that something was off.

"Uh... what's going on?"

"Ling...Ling Lang?!"

The moment the dancer at the corner of the bed saw Ling Yi, the expression on her face changed from fear to confusion, and finally to joy.

She glanced under the covers and found that her clothes were intact and tidy. She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to get out of bed to pounce on Ling Yi.

But she was already weak, and she was about to fall after taking only a few steps. Fortunately, Ling quickly stepped forward and supported her waist.

Then the dancer took the opportunity to hug him.

The dancer hugged her tightly and wept bitterly, recounting the injustices and grievances she had suffered.

Ling Yi was initially confused, but as she listened, she realized something was wrong.

At this moment, he looked at Meng and Zhang and found that their jaws were almost dropped to the ground in shock.

So he could only gently pat the dancer's back to comfort her.

Unexpectedly, the dancer cried herself to sleep.

Ling Yi picked her up and put her on the bed, then Zhang Qiang pulled her out of the room.

"Holy crap, what the hell did you drug that girl? Why are you letting her hug you like that?!"

Zhang Qiang roared in a low voice, almost angrily. Meng Dong, standing to the side, noticed that his fists were hardening as well.

Ling Yi chuckled, "Sigh, he's just too handsome, there's nothing I can do about it..."

"You son of a bitch!!"

Zhang Qiang cursed and was about to punch Ling Yi, but it was just a show; he didn't actually hit her. Otherwise, Ling Yi wouldn't have been able to take it so easily.

After Zhang Qiang finished venting, Ling Yi gave a serious explanation.

"She is the dancer I'm looking for in my quest, but she was possessed by the Chosen One before, so I thought I wouldn't have a chance to complete this quest."

"It seems that the Chosen One has left the game."

Meng Dong loosened his fist, as if comforting himself, and said, "So it's a single-line quest, no wonder it's like this..."

Zhang Qiang, standing to the side, sneered, "Damn it, your solo quests are all about being a hero saving a damsel in distress, while mine are just about being a watchdog!"

"Hey! You can't say that. Even if you're a gatekeeper, you're still a 'gatekeeper tiger'!"

"You son of a bitch..."

Zhang Qiang was seething with hatred, but there was one fact he had to admit: Ling Yi was indeed handsome, handsome from childhood to adulthood, to the point that his desk was never short of love letters.

Looking at myself, although I'm incredibly handsome now, I used to run around everywhere as a child, which gave me a tanned complexion. I was also quite lively, so I probably don't have the same appeal as someone like Ling Yi who lives off a woman.

It's one thing if it happens in real life, but I never expected he could hook up with such a beautiful woman in a game instance...

Ling Yi was also thinking, is this chosen one really that kind? After finishing the task, he even brought the person directly to him.

It's really hard to find a place to break through the iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get it!

Just as the three were chatting, a servant came to report again.

"Young Master, the Acting Patriarch has returned!"